OPERATION SMILE UNIVERSITY RESOURCE PACK Love is a decision to make someone else s problem your own. - Dr. Bill Magee, Operation Smile Co-Founder and CEO
Welcome to Operation Smile Operation Smile is an international children s medical charity, providing safe, effective reconstructive surgery for children born with facial deformities, such as a cleft lip and cleft palate. Each year hundreds of thousands of children are born with a severe cleft condition, which makes it difficult for them to speak, eat or smile. Too often, these children are rejected by the people around them, afraid to go to school and shunned by their communities. While children are born with cleft conditions all over the world, in countries like the UK we are fortunate to have a health care system that can treat the problem free of charge in the early stages of a child s life. Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, this is not the case, as surgery is either too expensive or just not available. In too many cases children in low- and middle-income countries have no choice but to live with their cleft and face life in isolation as a result. Operation Smile was founded in 1982 when Dr. William (Bill) P. Magee, Jr., a plastic surgeon, and his wife, Kathleen (Kathy), a nurse and clinical social worker, traveled to the Philippines with a group of medical volunteers to repair children s cleft lips and cleft palates. What they found was overwhelming. People pushed their babies at us, recalls Kathy. They tugged at our sleeves with tears in their eyes and begged us to help their children. In Naga City, approximately 300 families arrived hoping their children would receive surgery, but the team could only treat 40 children. As they prepared to leave, the Magees made a promise they would return to help more children. They began soliciting donations of surgical equipment and supplies from manufacturers, threw themselves into grassroots fundraising and assembled a volunteer team of 18 doctors, nurses and technicians for their medical mission to the Philippines. They helped approximately 100 more patients, but again, hundreds still waited. They saw the need and Operation Smile was born. Today Operation Smile has a presence in more than 40 countries, and continues to work in some of the most remote places in the world. With the help of thousands of medical volunteers Operation Smile has treated hundreds of thousands of children through surgery and ongoing care, and continues to bring smiles and hope for a brighter future. What is a cleft? A cleft lip is an opening in the upper lip, and a cleft palate is an opening in the roof of the mouth. Clefts occur when the upper lip or palate doesn t form correctly during the early stages of pregnancy. Clefts can happen on one side of the mouth (unilateral) or both sides of the mouth (bilateral). If the opening extends all the way to the nose it is called a complete cleft, and when it doesn t extend quite as far it is, known as an incomplete cleft.
Some people may think a cleft condition is a cosmetic issue, but the impact of a cleft can be far greater than what may seem like a visual deformity. Cleft conditions can have severe effects on a child s health. Depending on the type and severity, a cleft can create serious health issues if not corrected. Babies can have difficulty with feeding, which in some parts of the world can lead to malnutrition, or even starvation. Ear infections can occur and recurring infections can lead to hearing loss. Dental development can be affected, and can impair speech and language development. Children may also suffer from bullying, sometimes so severely that they sacrifice their right to an education as they are too afraid to return to school. Every three minutes, a child like Marceline is born with a cleft lip or cleft palate and may suffer from bullying, malnourishment and difficulty with speech. SOCIAL STIGMA Marceline, before surgery I just wanted to play with the other kids, but they only stared at me and laughed. - Marceline HUNGER & THIRST We did not know how to give her milk. I was worried she would die of thirst. - Marceline s mother In many of the regions Operation Smile works in there are a lack of surgeons or hospitals, parents don t have the means to travel far for help, and some families have even accepted their child s condition as a curse or fate. Local communities often fail to understand why these children look different and treat they them poorly as a result. Many are forced to leave school to avoid bullying, and subsequently miss out on making friends and gaining an education. People with cleft conditions often end up living a life in isolation, shunned by their community and facing a bleak future. This is why it is so important that Operation Smile continues to reach as many people as possible.
Global standards of care It is estimated that, worldwide, a child is born every 3 minutes with a cleft about one in 500-750 births. In some regions we work in there aren t enough hospitals to take care of the children and families who need surgery, and where there are hospitals they often lack some very basic equipment. Things like oxygen monitors and anesthesia units, antibiotics and pain medication, and even essentials like surgical masks and gloves are sometimes unavailable, and all are needed to treat our patients with the same level of care children in the UK receive. Our Global Standards of Care initiative ensures every child we treat benefits from the same level of care and has access the same equipment and medication. Did you know? Today, billions of people lack safe access to any surgical care Billions more lack access to safe, well-timed surgery An estimated 312.9 million surgical procedures are carried out every year But only 6.3% of these go to the poorest third of the global population An operation to repair a cleft takes as little as 45 minutes and can cost as few as 150 Medical programmes and student involvement Operation Smile has a team of thousands of medical volunteers who give up their time to travel on missions around the world, providing surgeries to children with cleft conditions. The impact of these missions is impossible to measure, as the surgery these children receive truly changes their lives forever. Student involvement in Operation Smile missions dates back to the 1980s. Co-founders Bill and Kathy Magee took their children on a medical programme, realising the value of their presence and their connection with the young patients. Today students attend almost all of Operation Smile s medical missions, where they experience a new culture, learn more about the organisation and help make a real difference to the lives of hundreds of children. Students play with our patients before they receive surgery to help calm their nerves, can help with translation between patients and volunteers and also present modules on basic health care, hygiene and burn prevention to patients and their families. Students are encouraged to help tell the stories of the families we serve through blog stories and videos.
Marceline s story Eleven-year-old Marceline is a bright girl with beautiful eyes. But to others in her village, she s an outcast and cursed. She was born with a cleft lip that has left her nose, mouth and teeth disfigured. Because of her facial deformity, Marceline often hides at home. When she does venture out, she is abused and tormented. People laugh at her, call her names and spit on her. They tell me: Don t come around here. You are making us sick to our stomachs. And they hit me. She tries to hide her face when she is out in public, and she hasn t been to school, though she should be in the 6 th grade. She is never allowed to eat or drink with other children. They re afraid she ll contaminate them, She lives as an outcast. Marceline said: They tell me: Don t come around here. You are making us sick to our stomachs. And they hit me. - Marceline When Marceline heard on the radio that Operation Smile was coming to Rwanda, she begged her mum to go. Friends from church lent their money to make the long trip. When I got the news that we could go, I was so happy, I was shaking, she said. Operation Smile s medical volunteers screen 371 children, all hoping for surgery, but the team only has the time and resources to provide surgery to 248. Finally, Marceline s name is called. The next day Operation Smile s skilled surgeon repairs her mouth, and restores and reshapes her nose. Her teeth will naturally go back in place. An hour later, a lifetime of waiting is over. When her mum sees Marceline for the first time after surgery, it takes a moment for her to recognise her daughter. Today, Marceline is in school for the first time in her life. She says other kids are telling me now that I look beautiful. And she is. Marceline s story, and many more, can be found on the Operation Smile UK YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=plltxpjraf rxgktm_rsfkpajw4csqgo_pc
Ways to get involved: university fundraising ideas Auction of Promises visit local businesses and ask them to donate their services, or have your friends make promises to be sold to the highest bidder Bake a smile we can provide celebrity recipes to help you on your way to setting up a bake sale to raise money for new smiles Change lives with spare change We can give you collection tins to go around your SU, or to make things interesting one for all of your halls, in a race to see who can fill theirs up first Concerts For this one a little bit of talent might be needed, but organising a small concert is a great way of getting people together. Add a small entrance fee and you can raise quite a bit of money for charity FIFA tournament charge people 2 to enter, draw up a schedule and tell people who they re playing. Include a small prize for the winner if necessary, but the pride at stake should be enough to get people interested Football tournament The beautiful game is a great way of bringing people together. Whether it s 11- a-side or 5-a-side you fancy, get some teams sorted, charge a small fee, sell food and drinks and you ve got a great day lined up Netball tournament As above, just with a different sport. You could also try cricket, hockey, rounders, tennis, the list goes on Pub quiz Also similar to the two above in that you ll need teams, but more a test of the brains than the brawn RAG raids even if we re not one of your RAG societies chosen charities this year, we would love to put on a raid with you, or work with you on any of the activities on this list Speed dating Invite your single friends to a night of speed dating, charge a small entry fee and sell refreshments throughout University Challenge Not quite realised your dream of making the actual team? Organise a one off game between friends, or set up a tournament between halls Top fundraising tips Give yourself plenty of time when organising an event Set clear targets. How many people do you want to be involved? How much do you aim to raise? Publicity. Make sure people know about your event. The fundraising section of our website has a helpful toolkit with posters, invitations etc. that you could use to make your event stand out. Don t forget to contact local media and your student radio and newspaper teams, who will be more than happy to help spread the word Our fundraising toolkit has plenty of things you might find useful when holding an event, such as posters, sponsorship forms and invitations http://www.operationsmile.org.uk/index.php?cid=208
Student Programmes Operation Smile clubs Operation Smile has a number of recognised clubs in schools and universities around the world. Whilst you can fundraise for Operation Smile without setting up a club, clubs are a good way of bringing together likeminded people and can make arranging events far easier. Universities offer a wealth of clubs and societies, and if enough people are interested it is usually very simple to start a new one. Running an Operation Smile club is not just a good way of streamlining fundraising efforts, but will also give students great organisational, teamwork and leadership experience. Operation Smile s Student Programmes Mission: to empower youth to create a global movement for positive change through our four pillars of philanthropy: leadership, education, service and awareness. Share your experience of Operation Smile by talking in a local school, to students at your university or we can arrange for one of our medical volunteers to come in and do the same. Give back to your community by volunteering your time with the elderly, homeless, underprivileged or vulnerable, just by mentioning your involvement with an Operation Smile club each time you will be making more people aware of our organisation. These sort of activities are exactly the kind of thing we want our students to do; it builds our image whilst moulding leaders of tomorrow. Aims: Students build awareness of Operation Smile within their university and community Build leaders within your university Give back to local communities through service projects Fundraising not only does this raise money to repair smiles, but it s also a great way of engaging your university/community
Other student opportunities Through Operation Smile students can take on a number of opportunities both here in the UK and further afield. Operation Smile clubs/university fundraising International Student Leadership Conference (ISLC) a week-long conference hosted in a different city each year, ISLC brings together student volunteers for leadership seminars, motivational speakers, performances, team building and much more Mission Opportunities two students are sent on each mission Operation Smile runs, advising communities on basic health needs, helping run screening and surgical days, and looking after children before and after they have their operations U-Voice another role students take up on missions is that of journalists. The U-Voice programme allows student bloggers and photojournalists to go on a on a mission as a reporter. Budding journalists have their work published on our website and e-newsletter, whilst getting the chance to experience everything an Operation Smile mission has to offer. More details of each of these opportunities are available in individual documents. Contact The Operation Smile UK team are always happy to help you should you have any questions about fundraising, setting up a club, or anything else you are interested in. Will Crane is our Student Programmes and Fundraising Officer, and you can contact him via: Email students.uk@operationsmile.org Phone 020 3475 5126
When we go back to the Philippines after 25 years, kids are knocking on our door-saying, Thank you. I never would have had a life without your help. I am a university student now because of you. - Kathy Magee, Operation Smile Co-Founder and President